SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — Opening statements are set in the trial of a neighborhood watch volunteer charged with second-degree murder for the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager in central Florida.
Prosecutors and George Zimmerman's defense attorneys will present their cases Monday for the first time before a jury of six women.
Zimmerman says he shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in self-defense. Prosecutors say Zimmerman profiled Martin as he walked through a community on a rainy night in February 2012 wearing a dark hooded shirt.
The initial decision not to charge Zimmerman led to public outrage and demonstrations around the nation. Civil rights leaders and others accused Sanford police of failing to thoroughly investigate the shooting.
